Can Gen Z (Or Anyone) Trust the Bible?

The first date I ever went on was with a girl from my British Literature class. Combining the fact that this was my first romantic interaction with a member of the opposite sex, the fact that I had a desperate need to be liked, and the fact that she was over three years my senior (thus making her more “cool”), I enthusiastically pursued a relationship with her. In my eagerness, I overlooked the fact that we did not share a similar life philosophy. We did not value the same things politically or socially, and most importantly, we did not share the same faith–that is to say, I was embarking on my relatively early walk with the Lord and she, as far as I could tell, did not believe in anything or anyone in particular. It goes without saying this did not contain the recipe for a thriving or long-lasting coupling. 

One interaction we had sticks out to me. She had just sat down in the passenger seat of my car and noticed the Bible resting nearby. The girl made some form of verbal observation that I had a Bible resting there, to which I said something like “Yep. God’s Word.” 

It was then that she shook her head. “No it’s not.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“That’s just something written by a bunch of men.”

“But it was inspired by the Holy Spirit,” I said. 

“No,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t let a bunch of men from a long time ago tell me how to live.”

This woman was not the only member of my generation to harbor this sentiment. From what I can gather, Gen Z is quite skeptical that the Bible is the genuine Word of God. To them and many others, it seems more likely it’s just an ancient text composed and revised over a period of thousands of years. It is that dusty tome sitting on their grandma’s shelf, which does nothing to gain their confidence that scripture is in any way applicable to the challenges and experiences of modern life. Regarding the Bible, they may have any number of questions, including: 

• How can something written by humans be called “the Word of God?”

• Where did the Bible come from exactly? 

• How do we know we have the “right” Bible? 

• How was the Bible put together? How did we know what books of the Bible qualified as scripture? 

Perhaps you have found yourself wondering some or all of these questions. I know I have. To tell you the truth, this question is probably the one that I have personally wrestled with the most, and when I was a ministry intern, it ushered me into a period of moderate doubt. I wish back then that I had fully considered the information I am about to lay out; it would have saved me a lot of time.  

The question we are exploring today is, in technical terms, the question of whether scripture is inerrant (divinely inspired by God and containing no falsehood). In the Christian faith, I make the distinction between minor and major doctrines. Minor doctrines are not labeled as such because they are unimportant; they are called “minor” because they are concerned with matters that are not hills to die on–there is room for debate and difference of opinion between believers on these issues. Major doctrines, as you can probably guess, are key doctrines of the faith where compromise is not possible if one is to be a Christian. In no uncertain terms, the doctrine of scriptural inerrancy is a major doctrine. 

Think about what is lost if one does not hold to this view. The Bible is where we get a massive portion of our information about God. If we are unsure if everything in the Bible is true, then we cannot be sure we know much of anything about God. If we only believe certain parts of scripture are divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit while others are not, this leaves us the impossible job of deciding which portions of scripture go into which category–an arbitrary process that would, again, cast doubt over the validity of all scripture. Finally, if we think as some progressive “Christians” do that scripture is not inerrant or divinely inspired, instead containing a mix of myths, historical accounts, allegories, and fables, then we have rid ourselves of Christianity altogether in favor of reading the Bible as literature. I’ll say one thing that even most atheists would agree with, I think: the Bible is either God’s entirely perfect Word, in which case it is paramount that everyone read and treasure its contents; or it is not God’s Word at all, in which case there is little reason to bother with it unless you fancy yourself an intellectual who likes to read ancient texts. 

There is an awful lot resting on the doctrine of scriptural inerrancy. Let’s find out, then, if it rings true or if it is a compelling reason to terminally deconstruct, as many Gen Zers think it is. 

The Old Testament 

The Bible is divided into two sections: the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, with their essential difference being that the Old is about God readying His chosen people of Israel for the coming of Jesus and the New being the era in which Jesus arrives. I am going to discuss the argument for Old Testament inerrancy before doing the same with the New Testament. 

Determining whether the Old Testament is inerrant is a simpler process than one might think. Interestingly enough, its status as perfect scripture essentially comes down to whether one thinks Jesus is Lord–which is why this argument will be easier to stomach for deconstructing believers wrestling with this specific topic than it will be for the hardcore atheist. Jesus Christ Himself affirmed the Old Testament as God’s Word. Not only did he quote from it extensively and acknowledge it as scripture, He refers to the Law and Prophets as something that is good, not to be thrown out.

Matthew 5:17

[Jesus speaking] “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Not only are the Law and Prophets (the Old Testament) not to be thrown out, but Christ, God in the flesh, is saying that He has come to embody their principles and fulfill what they predicted about Him. To Jesus Christ, the Old Testament was clearly inerrant scripture. And if it’s good enough for God, it stands to reason that it should be good enough for us because if God says something is scripture…well, it’s probably scripture. 

Which is why, as I said, Old Testament inerrancy centers around your perception of Jesus’ Lordship. This, in turn, requires an honest assessment of whether He was Lord. To boil things down, I believe in Jesus’ Lordship for two central reasons: (1) historical realities and (2) my life-changing experiences with Him. 

Regarding the historical realities, I will be both clear and concise: it is an undeniable fact that a man named Jesus Christ taught in ancient Israel around two thousand years ago. It is inarguable that He was persecuted and later crucified by the Jewish elites and the Roman empire. This is where things get very interesting–obviously many people today contest that He rose from the dead, which would solidify beyond a shadow of a doubt His Godhood, but I would suggest the objective historical evidence strongly points to the resurrection. To keep certain parties happy, we won’t mention the historical record of the Gospels, which all testify to the resurrection despite being written by widely different people who perceived the same event and did not collaborate with one another. Fine, then. Ancient historical accounts from around Jesus’ time testify that His followers were convinced they had seen and spoken with Him after He had risen from the dead. Here is an account from the Jewish historian Josephus:

About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man.  For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had  first come to love him did not cease.  He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him.  And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.

Some would object to the content of this passage and claim that it has been doctored by early Christians so it would align with their narrative. Again, fine. Let’s go to a less contested account, also from Josephus.

Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others (or some of his companions). And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.

Here we see undisputed historical evidence that James was so thoroughly certain he had seen Jesus (his half-brother) risen from the dead, he was willing to die for it. And he had many others being persecuted along with him, so it is likely many of them based their belief off of seeing the resurrected Jesus as well. 

This was the case with most of Jesus’ original followers who knew Him before and after His crucifixion. They were so firm in their conviction that this man they had known for years had risen from the dead that they staked the purpose of their life on it and even endured all forms of persecution because of it–remember, Christianity spread through this original group of thirteen or so people on the basis that they had seen Christ conquer death. Bartholomew likely died for his belief in Christ by having his skin torturously peeled off. Peter was crucified upside-down. Thomas was killed by the spear. The list goes on. 

This is also why we can be certain these men did not “make up” Jesus’ resurrection for reasons relating to personal gain. What personal gain could there possibly have been? In return for their teaching, they did not receive fame or fortune. Instead, they received social ostracization, a life of discomfort, threat of death, and eventual gory execution. 

Allow me to summarize the train of thought I have taken to arrive at the conclusion of Old Testament scriptural inerrancy:

• Jesus Christ viewed the Old Testament as inerrant scripture. 

• If Jesus was God, as He claimed to be, then the previous statement is guaranteed to be correct.

• There is strong historical evidence to suggest that Jesus rose from the dead. 

• Only God can conquer death, so Jesus is God. 

• The Old Testament is inerrant scripture.

As for the other reason I believe Christ is Lord, I hold to this belief because He has utterly transformed me from the inside-out. For years now, I have not valued the things I once did. The sins of my past no longer hold such a tantalizing allure and now reveal themselves as festering atrocities, promises of pleasure that lead only to death. I have delivered a young man from demons in Jesus’ name, heard a loud cosmic boom, and seen a clock come crashing down to the floor from its well-fastened spot on the wall. I have seen a paralyzed woman, who doctors thought would be bed-bound for the rest of her life, prayed over in the name of Jesus Christ–within days, she was walking by herself. My outlook on life has turned from one of sorrow and pessimism to one of hope and gratitude. I have new life. How could I not believe Jesus is Lord, the risen Messiah, after tasting and seeing that He is good? How could I deny the divinity of He Who has been so good to me?

All this is to say nothing of the various prophecies from scripture Jesus fulfilled hundreds of years after they were originally written, which is nothing short of miraculous and points to the supernatural nature of scripture. Here are just a handful of them:

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The New Testament 

Determining the scriptural inerrancy of the New Testament is a different animal altogether. The New Testament, of course, came after Christ walked the earth, meaning He was not physically there to give it His divine stamp of approval, so to speak. Because of this, the natural question that arises is one that asks how we can know the New Testament is the flawless Word of God without Jesus’ direct help. 

Answering this question requires knowing how we “got” the New Testament in the first place. The study of this answer is the study of the Bible’s canonicity, which is a term used to refer to the determination process for what is and is not scripture. In the discussion surrounding New Testament canonicity, Anthony Ferriell makes this important observation in his Story of Grace article “How Did We Get the Bible?” 

As in the OT, when the books of the NT were accepted, Christians did not select them with a choosing finger but received them with an open hand. This point is vital. They did not “choose” which books to canonize from a large group of undifferentiated books. Rather, each generation began with a group of authoritative books that they had inherited from the previous generation and which that generation in turn had inherited from the generation before them all the way back to the apostles themselves. 

How did it become clear, then, which books God had inspired with His Holy Spirit? There were four main criteria used by the early Church for recognizing this: 

• Was the book written or authorized by one of Jesus’ apostles? 

• Did the book come from around the time Jesus walked the earth? 

• Did the content of the book align with the rest of scripture?

• Was the book widely used by the early Church at large and found to be edifying/applicable? 

These safeguards worked to ensure only inerrant scripture made it into the New Testament canon. Limiting the authors of scripture to only those whom Jesus had entrusted with the task of leading the early Church meant that not just anybody who felt inclined to add to scripture could do so. Only accepting books from around the same general time-frame following Jesus’ resurrection made certain that there was insufficient time for mythology or legend to develop–especially pertaining to the Gospels–and be erroneously added into the biblical canon. Making sure the doctrine espoused in the prospective New Testament book did not conflict with doctrine in previously established scripture is common sense: God is the same yesterday, today, and forever–He will not disagree with Himself at any point. 

Evaluating whether other brothers and sisters in Christ were using this was not a blind mentality of “well, let’s do what everyone else is doing.” Instead, I see this as following the principle of Proverbs 11:14 which states: “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.” Seeking the wisdom of other brothers and sisters in Christ showed the desire of the early Church to exercise sound judgment. 

I find these arguments convincing on an intellectual level, but I also understand that until one has experienced the transformative power of scripture in their own life, this all very well may sound like foolishness. At this, I can only invite you to taste and see that it is good, and that is what I would advise readers to tell Gen Zers when talking about this matter. I can only personally assure you that my personal character has changed for the better as I have studied God’s Word–I sacrifice more willingly, resist temptation more effectively, give more freely, and love others more completely. I cannot stress this enough: if this is true for you, tell it to the Gen Zers in your life when discussing this matter!

Whenever I am in need of comfort, or the warmth of God’s love, or guidance in a difficult chapter of life, or strength to keep going after mental and emotional exhaustion has settled in, again and again I find myself drawing back to the sweetness of His Word. It is like a spiritual well I may continually draw from because it never runs dry, something to replenish my heart and send renewed life coursing through my veins. 

Do not just take my word for it. This has been the case for countless people of every generation, including Generation Z. I am captivated by the accuracy and elegance of this testimonial from a young Gen Z woman named Brie regarding how scripture gives her hope and fills her with resolve. 

“There is so much corruption in this world, so we must set our eyes on our Lord and Savior. We must dwell on things above and not be overcome by the things of the world.

I think about the way God cared for me, even when I was dead in my sin. I think about the verses 1 John 1:9, Romans 3:23-24, and Isaiah 41:10. I dwell on the thought of how God rescued me from death and how if God woke me up this morning, then He still has a plan for me. 

If His plan requires my martyrdom or just to simply glorify Him by working as a teacher for the  rest of my life–either way, [my life] will glorify Him in the end.”

- Gen-Zer Brie, 18 

Such devotion to the Lord and utter disregard of the self can only come from the transformation of God’s Living Word. If you have not tried it yourself, I invite you to. It just might change your life, filling you with a hope, joy, and purpose that far exceeds anything you have ever experienced.